Skipper puts Sri Lanka in control

Centuries from captain Kumar Sangakkara and Tharanga Paranavitana put Sri Lanka in control as they reached 256 for two at the end of the opening day of the first Test in Galle.

Much of the pre-match focus had been on Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who will retire from Test cricket after this game, but Sangakkara (103) stole the show on the opening day as he reached his 22nd Test century just before the tea break, with opener Paranavitana (110 not out) bringing up his maiden century shortly after the interval.

Sangakkara was eventually caught at midwicket off the bowling of Virender Sehwag to end a 181-run second-wicket partnership, but Mahela Jayawardene (eight not out) only had to face 14 balls before rain brought an early end to the day's play.

India handed a debut to 20-year-old Abhimanyu Mithun, but it was his senior partner Ishant Sharma who the Sri Lanka batsman took to in the early stages.

Tillakaratne Dilshan thrashed three boundaries in the ninth over of the day as Sharma's opening five overs cost him 41 runs.

Mithun kept things far tighter at the other end and claimed his first Test wicket with a well-aimed bouncer that caught the gloves of Dilshan, who had raced to 25 from 24 balls, as he attempted to maintain his early attack.

Paranavitana offered a tough chance when a leading edge gave Gautam Gambhir little time to react at silly point just before lunch, but he and Sangakkara were hardly troubled thereafter.

They reached their half-centuries off successive balls, before Sangakkara survived a scare as India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni uncharacteristically spilled a straightforward chance when Sehwag found the edge of Sangakkara's bat when he was on 65.

The left-hander made India pay as he reached his century from 136 balls and Paranavitana wasted little time in following suit by bringing up his ton from 201 balls when play resumed after tea.

Sangakkara then went as Tendulkar took the catch at midwicket, but there was little time for India to test new batsman Jayawardene before bad light stopped play with Sri Lanka on course for a significant first-innings total at a ground where the average opening score is 412.